In Rouen, in Normandy under English control, Jeanne d’Arc, the peasant woman who had become the savior of France, was burned at the stake for heresy.
Jeanne was born in 1412, the daughter of a farmer in Domremy, on the borders of the duchies of Bar and Lorraine. In 1415, the Hundred Years War between England and France entered a crucial phase when the young King Henry V of England invaded France and won a series of decisive victories against the forces of King Charles VI. At the time of Henry’s death in August 1422, the English and their Franco-Burgundian allies controlled Aquitaine and most of northern France, including Paris. Charles VI, long incapacitated, died a month later, and his son, Charles, regent of 1418, prepared to take the throne. However, Reims, the traditional city of the French coronation, was owned by the Anglo-Burgundians, and the Dauphin (apparent heir to the French throne) remained without a crown. Meanwhile, King Henry VI of England, the infant son of Henri V and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI, was proclaimed King of France by the English.
The village of Jeanne de Domremy is located on the border between the France of the Dauphin and that of the Anglo-Burgundians. In the midst of this unstable environment, Joan began to hear the “voices” of three Christian saints – St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret. When she was around 16, these voices urged her to help the Dauphin capture Reims and therefore the French throne. In May 1428, she went to Vaucouleurs, stronghold of the Dauphin, and informed the captain of the garrison of her visions. Not believing the young peasant, he sent her home. In January 1429, she returned and the captain, impressed by his piety and determination, agreed to allow his passage to the Dauphin at Chinon.
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Dressed in men’s clothing and accompanied by six soldiers, she reached the Château du Dauphin in Chinon in February 1429 and obtained an audience. Charles hid among his courtiers, but Joan immediately chose him and informed him of his divine mission. For several weeks, Charles had Jeanne questioned by the theologians of Poitiers, who concluded that, given his desperate distress, the Dauphin would be well advised to make use of this strange and charismatic girl.
Charles provides him with a small army and, on April 27, 1429, she leaves for Orleans, besieged by the English since October 1428. On April 29, while a French exit distracts the English troops from the west side of Orleans, Joan enters without opposite by its eastern door. She brought much needed supplies and reinforcements and inspired the French to passionate resistance. She personally led the charge in several battles and on May 7 was struck by an arrow. After quickly dressing her wound, she returned to combat and the French won the day. On May 8, the English withdrew from Orleans.
Over the next five weeks, Joan and the French commanders led the French in a staggering series of victories against the English. On July 16, the royal army reached Reims, which opened its doors to Jeanne and the Dauphin. The next day, Charles VII is crowned king of France, Jeanne standing next to it brandishing her standard: an image of Christ in judgment. After the ceremony, she knelt before Charles, cheerfully calling him king for the first time.
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On September 8, the king and Jeanne attack Paris. During the battle, Jeanne carried her standard to the earthworks and called on the Parisians to deliver the city to the king of France. She was injured but continued to rally the king’s troops until Charles ordered the end of the unsuccessful siege. That year, she led several other small campaigns, capturing the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moitier. In December Charles ennobled Joan, her parents and her brothers.
In May 1430, the Burgundians besieged Compiègne and Jeanne entered the city under the cover of darkness to help its defense. On May 23, while leading an outing against the Burgundians, she was captured. The Burgundians sold it to the English and, in March 1431, it was tried before the ecclesiastical authorities of Rouen for heresy. His most serious crime, according to the court, was his rejection of the authority of the church in favor of a direct inspiration from God. After refusing to submit to church, her conviction was read on May 24: it was to be turned over to secular authorities and executed. Reacting in horror at this statement, Joan agreed to retract and was instead sentenced to life imprisonment.
Ordered to put on female clothes, she obeyed, but a few days later, the judges went to her cell and found her again dressed in male costume. When questioned, she told them that Saint Catherine and Saint Marguerite had reproached her for giving in to the church against their will. She was declared a heretic in relapse and, on May 29, was handed over to the secular authorities. On May 30, Jeanne, 19, was burned at the stake at Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen. Before lighting the pyre, she asked a priest to hold a crucifix high so that she could see and shout prayers loud enough to be heard over the roar of the flames.
As a source of military inspiration, Joan of Arc helped transform the Hundred Years War in favor of France. In 1453, Charles VII had reconquered all of France with the exception of Calais, which the English abandoned in 1558. In 1920, Joan of Arc, one of the great heroes in the history of France, was recognized as a Christian by the Roman Catholic Church. Her birthday is May 30.
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